Tilapia is marinated in lime juice and spices before being made into a coconut milk-based stew with onions, bell peppers, and tomatoes in this Brazilian recipe.
My mother usually didn't care for dumplings. But she raved about this stew...dumplings and all. It's a down-home delicious meal that I make often for my family.
Salsa and chili powder add spice to this chicken stew, but probably not too much for timid tasters or kids. If you want to kick up the heat, use a hot salsa and a dash of hot sauce or ground red pepper.
'I found this hearty stew recipe in an old cookbook purchased at a flea market,' recalls Judy McCarthy of Derby, Kansas. 'The blend of beef and barley really hits the spot on cool days.'
'My husband and I enjoy visiting the apple orchards in nearby Nebraska City,' explains Carol Mathias of Lincoln, Nebraska. 'We always buy cider to use in this sensational slow-cooked stew.'
While not nearly as sweet as bananas, plantains do have a sweet flavor. In this soup we keep that sweetness at bay by using firm plantains with green skins rather than riper brown-skinned ones--the sugars will have not yet developed, so the fruit will add starchy body to the soup without too much sweetness.
